On one of its posters,
Accepted refers to itself as a National Lampoon's Animal House
for a new generation. This is of course ridiculous, the movie is rated
PG-13 so it is obviously pulling punches that its inspiration absolutely
refused to do. Actually, Accepted is much more like National
Lampoon's Van Wilder, a kind of clever, kind of stupid look at a bunch
of smug losers who wreak mild havoc on an institute of higher learning.

The main character is saddled with the
preposterous, Melville-referencing name of Bartleby Gaines. The role
is played with a good amount of charm if just a tiny bit too much smart-ass
swagger by Justin Long, formerly a regular of the quirky Tom Cavanaugh TV
series Ed, currently best known for his clever series of Mac computer
ads.

Here he is a slightly nerdy
ne'er-do-well student who is not accepted to any of the colleges which he
applied to. When his parents threaten to force him to get a job, he
creates a fake college acceptence to the fictional South Harmon Institute of
Technology (work out the initials to get an idea of the level of humor in
the movie).

A few friends learn about
the scam and when they don't get into any schools either, they join in on
the scam. At first is seems like a cool idea, giving him an excuse to
hang out and play video games, but due to his father's suspicions he has to
make the lie more and more elaborate; creating a working web site, renting
and renovating an old mental hospital and hiring a slightly burnt-out former
educator-turned-fast-food-salesperson as dean. Suddenly applications
and tuition checks start pouring in and the group must find their own
unorthodox curriculum.

Bartleby (who is mercifully
called simply B by most who know him) is in love with Monica, the gorgeous girl next
store from high school who always saw him as just a friend and dates the
handsome big man on campus. Blake Lively is gorgeous and charming in
the role, but the supportive
hot-girl-whose-eyes-are-finally-opened-to-the-nerdy-guy role is a huge step
down from her amazing, multi-layered work as the depressive,
self-destructive soccer star in last year's Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants. Just because she has the looks and talent to play the
eye-candy role effortlessly doesn't mean that she should have -- nor will it
likely pull her career in the direction she has the talent and charisma to
go.

Of course, these films
would not be complete without a bad guy and Anthony Heald of Boston
Public and The Silence of the Lambs plays the mean dean of the
neighboring University in true Dean Wormer fashion (this is the one place
where they are spot on to Animal House.)

Accepted is not
exactly a good or interesting film, but if you're willing to shut off your
mind and agree to buy into its sort of silly plotline, there are worse ways
to spend an hour and a half. (11/06)